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WL boys, girls take it easy, win City/County

Dana McBratney
6:25 a.m. EDT September 3, 2014

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Daniel Feltis of Lafayette Jeff runs to a first-place finish in the boys race of the City/County cross country meet Tuesday at the Tippecanoe Amphitheatre.
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The West Lafayette boys and girls successfully defended their City/County Cross Country Meet titles Tuesday at the Tippecanoe County Amphitheater.

But both squads had more on their minds than winning the City/County titles.

"We wanted to run a workout and try to keep the team together," West Lafayette coach Steve Lewark said. "We did not want to expend a lot of energy because days like this can really drain you. We want to be at our best on Saturday (Harrison Invitational on the same course). On the boys side, we have Bloomington South coming in and they are ranked No. 4 in the state and they are really, really good. So, if we are not at our best, we could get beat."

The top-ranked West Side boys won with seven runners finishing in the top 10. The Red Devils had 25 points. Led by individual winner Daniel Feltis, Lafayette Jeff was second with 51.

"I like where our boys team is right now," Lewark said. "I have a lot of depth on this team."

Five West Lafayette runners crossed the finish line together with Dominic Patacsil awarded third place. He was followed by Evan Johnson, Jake Cohen, Cooper Williams and Logan Berndt. Dylan Williams was ninth and Travis Shinsky 10th for West Side.

"Our boys are ahead of the game compared to where we were last year," Lewark said. "We have the guys who work hard and have good attitudes. They don't let things get to them. I think we can go into the state tournament pretty loose even though we will have high expectations. I am just very excited to see what they can do."

Harrison's Charl Brinkerhoff was second to Feltis.

"It means a lot to win this," Feltis said. "I don't remember us having an individual City/County winner in a long time. That's pretty cool."

In the girls race, sisters Lauren and Kristen Johnson led a pack of five West Side runners across the finish line. They tied for first, finishing in 20 minutes, 18 seconds.

"This was supposed to be workout for us, not a race," Kristen said. "Our goal was for one of us to be first."

"We always try to tie," Lauren said. "One of us usually gets that energy burst at the end and wins."

West Lafayette won the team title with 15 points, followed by Harrison with 50. Right behind the Johnsons were Rachel Bales in third, Susan Hubbard in fourth and Delaney Barber in fifth for the Red Devils, who are rated third in the state.

"The one thing that concerns me about the girls team is our depth," Lewark said. "We need to develop Abby (Hummels) and Annie (Covington) a little more. If we can do that, we will be really good. It is a little scary going to the state tournament with only five strong runners. A lot of things can happen."